SEOUL — Japan, Australia, and South Korea enjoyed comfortable wins in Asia qualifying for the 2018 World Cup on Thursday.
Son Heung-min came off the bench to provide two assists as South Korea took apart Myanmar 4-0. South Korea and Qatar are the only teams in the second round of qualification with five wins from five games.
"We expected that Myanmar would be defensive but we showed what we could do early in the game and made a good start," South Korea coach Uli Stielike said after seeing his team record its 15th win this year.
European-based Keisuke Honda and Maya Yoshida scored Japan's second and third goals in a 3-0 win in Singapore to put them on top of Group E, above Syria.
Australia bounced back from October's loss in Jordan to defeat Kyrgyzstan 3-0 in Canberra, and move within a point of Jordan in Group B. Mile Jedinak scored from the spot just before the break, and Tim Cahill added a second just before an Ildor Amirov own goal.
"I would have preferred we won 10-0 which we should have," Australia coach Ange Postecoglou said. "We weren't happy with how our last game went, so we needed to have a look at some different options, and the starting lineup reflected the players who looked in the best condition to play the kind of football we wanted to play."
Iran moved to the top of Group D with a 3-1 win over Turkmenistan in Tehran, while Thailand extended its lead at the top of Group F with a 4-2 victory against Taiwan.
Hong Kong kept its hopes alive by beating the Maldives 1-0, and host China in Group C on Tuesday. China defeated Bhutan 12-0 at home.
Yemen topped the Philippines 1-0, Afghanistan defeated Cambodia 3-0, and Tajikistan accounted for Bangladesh 5-0.
Only the eight group winners are certain to progress to the final round of qualification. The four best runners-up also advance.